‘Legacy’ wording on UKHSA job advert not proof of a planned pandemic

6 September 2023
What was claimed

A UK Health Security Agency job advert for a role “during what is expected to be the UK’s largest vaccination programme” suggests it is planning a new pandemic.

Our verdict

The UK Health Security Agency has said that the wording of the job advert is a “legacy” from a previous advert from the lead up to the Covid-19 vaccination programme which is “widely recognised as the UK’s largest ever vaccination programme”. It says there is no new vaccination programme planned although the Covid programme is ongoing. The advert was not suggesting there was going to be a new vaccination programme for a new pandemic.

Posts about a job advert from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have gone viral on social media, with people claiming it suggests officials are planning a pandemic.

The advert was for a vaccine supply operations lead at the UKHSA and closed on 14 February this year.

A section of the advert which has been highlighted in posts on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) says: “The role of vaccine supply operations lead is a new post to support the operations, providing accurate and timely reports for a range of stakeholders during what is expected to be the UK’s largest vaccination programme which will be delivered at pace and will be a key Ministerial priority.”

This led one X user to question: “How does the UK government know there will be "the largest vaccination" programme in 2023 (or 2024)? Are they planning another "pandemic"?”

This X post has been shared thousands of times and has been posted on Facebook as well.

One person on Facebook also said: “2023-2024, A New planned Fluvid is imminent.”[sic]

But the UKHSA said the wording of the advert was a “legacy” from an early job posting from the lead up to the start of the Covid-19 vaccination programme which is “widely recognised as the UK’s largest ever vaccination programme”.

The agency added: “There is no new vaccination programme planned, though the Covid programme is on-going, with plans for an autumn booster this year, so the ‘largest ever’ programme is continuing.”

So the advert was not intended to suggest there is going to be a new vaccination programme for a new or planned pandemic.

We have previously checked false claims that Covid-19 was a planned ‘scamdemic’ and that all the Covid variants have planned release dates.

We have also written about false claims that Event 201–a pandemic planning exercise–was a rehearsal for the Covid pandemic, as well as claims that the outbreak of Mpox (formerly monkeypox) was planned

Image courtesy of Hakan Nural.

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